Stowe reader has question about vinyl siding

Q: Greetings from Stowe. My 150-year-old house has 50-year-old white smooth vinyl siding, which has turned yellowish in many areas.

The siding is in good shape, structurally, so is it acceptable to paint it? If so, what preparation and products should I use? Thanks in advance. — Stowe, Vermont

A: Yes, vinyl siding can be painted. It should be thoroughly cleaned to remove any pollutants, including mildew. This is best done by hand, as pressure-washing can result in water penetration behind the siding.

The best way to wash the siding and remove all pollutants is to mix equal parts of EcoGeeks’ Deck & Patio Cleaner and OXY-Boost in hot water, using a soft-bristle brush.

This is not only one of the most effective cleaners for siding, it is also environmentally safe. You can purchase the two products on the company’s website: www.ecogeeks.com.

Rinse with a gentle shower from your garden hose to remove all residue.

Vinyl siding is formulated with a certain coefficient of heat absorption, and since your vinyl siding is white, you will need to stick to white or a very light color to prevent your siding from buckling or warping. White is the safest.

You should also apply the paint in the coldest weather the paint manufacturer recommends because, if you wait for warmer weather, the siding will expand, and when it shrinks again in colder weather, you’ll see unpainted areas at all joints.

Paint with Sherwin-Williams Duration or Sears Weatherbeater ULTRA (which is also made by Sherwin-Williams), following the directions on the can.

Q: I enjoy reading your column in the Tribune-Review, and here is my question for you:

I’m starting a project in our basement — insulating interior stud walls and covering them with drywall to paint later. I’m now beginning to work with the exterior concrete block walls, which have been painted with a white masonry waterproofing, and am starting to stud out the walls. What would be the best choice for an insulating product for these walls, and is a vapor barrier necessary, and how should that plastic be used correctly? I appreciate your taking the time to read this email. — Pennsylvania, via email

A: It is unfortunate that you painted the block walls with a waterproofing paint. Did you do so because there was leakage into the basement? If so, there were better ways to handle the problem.

Over the years, I have cautioned my readers not to do so. If water penetrates the blocks, and it cannot leak into the basement, it will build up inside the blocks’ cores and evaporate through the inside of the exterior walls into the living spaces and the attic. In a case I investigated several years ago, this had resulted in such serious damages that apartments had to be vacated and totally redone.

If you have had no leakage, you should take all needed steps to ensure that it will never happen. Make sure that, if you have a foundation drain, its outlet is free and open. Make sure that the grade slopes gently away from the foundation for several feet. Get rid of any flower beds or shrubs and plant and maintain a healthy stand of grass.

If you have gutters, make sure that the downspouts stay open and discharge their contents so they flow away from the house.

If you have no gutters, be sure to insert concrete patio blocks flush with the grade at the roof’s drip line to prevent erosion.

Before insulating a basement, you need to make sure that there is a functioning footing drain, the backfill was done with coarse material, and that the grade slopes away from the foundation.

Otherwise, fully insulating the walls may allow frost to penetrate deeper and crack the walls.

If these conditions are not present, you should not insulate the walls deeper than three feet below grade in order to allow some heat loss to keep the frost at bay.

Under the right conditions, to finish a basement, it is best to adhere 2-inch thick XPS (blue or pink) rigid insulation to the walls with a compatible adhesive, such as Styrobond or polyurethane caulking compound.

Now that the walls are painted, this may no longer be possible, as the sealants may not be compatible with the paint used.

However, since the studs will hold the rigid insulation in place, you can also use polyiso rigid insulation, which could not be adhered to the block walls because of its aluminum skin.

The bottom plate should be pressure-treated.

Once your wiring is in, you can put fiberglass batts between the studs. With this type of construction, a plastic vapor retarder is not needed, as the frame walls will be kept warm.

However, since you have started studding the walls, it may no longer be possible to install rigid insulation directly to the block walls. So the options are to cut rigid insulation to fit tightly between the studs or fill the stud spaces with unfaced fiberglass batts and carefully staple plastic to the studs. This is not the best way to go for reasons too long to mention here.

Henri de Marne’s book, “About the House,” is available at www.upperaccess.com and in bookstores. His website is www.henridemarne.com. Readers can send questions to Henri de Marne’s email address at henridemarne@gmavt.net, or to First Aid for the Ailing House, Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.